ASUS GTX 780 DirectCU II with 10 mm thick heatpipe

ASUS has announced the GTX 780 DirectCU II. This graphics card features a custom PCB with a 10-phase VRM. ASUS claims this allows the card to draw up to 30% more voltage and suffer from less ripple. The card comes factory overclocked, with a core clock frequency of 899 MHz and a GPU Boost speed of 941 MHz. Nvidia's reference model has speeds of respectively 863 and 900 MHz.

The card is equipped with ASUS' latest generation DirectCU II cooler. Like the earlier models, it contains two fans. One of these fans is a so-called 'CoolTech' fan, which combines two types of fans creating multiple air streams. Five heatpipes run through the aluminium heatsink, four of which have an 8 mm diameter. The fifth has a diameter of no less than 10 mm. An aluminium backplate is also present on the card, providing extra support and passive cooling,.